Monday, March 30, 2015

Walking
into Rosemary’s Gift & Yarn Shop, it’s easy to get lost in the textures,
colors and unlimited possibilities that await anyone willing to take time to
knit or crochet. The shop is owned by Rosemary Libby and her husband Huard.

Since
opening the shop in Windham, they have become the largest yarn only store in
Maine. The shop also has Maine made gifts mostly associated with knitting.
Moving to Windham was supposed to be the next phase of their lives, a chance to
slow down, but her customers, the 2,300 people on the mailing list and creating
knitting and crocheting patterns, keeps her busy six days a week.

In
the five years, the couple has been in Windham, they have drawn a much wider
customer base, the website is much larger and Rosemary has plans to expand her
online store. She isn’t interested in growing the physical store anymore and
there isn’t more space with every wall lined with skeins of yarn and shelving
crisscrossing the rooms. She carries wools, bamboo, cottons, acrylics, pima
cottons, mohairs, llama, cashmere, superwash wool, mink yarn, Noro Kibou and
the entire line of Encore products. The shop also has a full complement of
needles including Addi needles.

Knitting
hasn’t gone away and come back in recent years, she said. It was big when she
started selling yarn 12 years ago and it’s still big. Knitting was considered
Grammie’s hobby when she retired, but now university students come to knit,
Rosemary said.

“When
the economy is down, crafts are up. It’s a way of soothing yourself. That’s how
important it is. Knitting and crafts are a therapy. It’s not just a hobby,” she
added.

The
Libby’s lost their son Christopher at age 19 in an accident overseas. “If I
didn’t have the yarn in my needles, I don’t think I would have gotten through,”
she said.

Knitting
is something people can do today and have a feeling of satisfaction that every
stitch is made with love. It is more expensive to knit something than it would
be to go to a box store and buy something, but that’s not the point.

If
it’s a knitting project, there is no doubt that Rosemary has the materials and
the know how to get it done. From arm knitting to continental knitting to
crocheting to making socks, she has the supplies and handwritten patterns.

“I
love to write the patterns. I try to gear my patterns for the beginners,” she
said. Sometimes people are afraid to try a new pattern because they don’t
understand the language of the patterns, but Rosemary makes sure that her
directions are clear.

Rosemary
and Huard have five special programs they knit for, all of them with the title
“operation.” Huard was in the military and Rosemary admitted a fondness for
anything to do with helping soldiers and their families.

Rosemary
has free knitting times on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and
Thursday evenings provide a chance for Rosemary to answer specific knitting
questions. She does offer classes on Sunday afternoons from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on
varying subjects. The cost is usually $30 to $35 for a two week class. She has
a wish sheet for her customers to tell her which classes they would like to
see.

Sunday, March 22, 2015

101 Private Studio is where Glenn
Hutchinson trains and educates clients on how to become healthy, fight off
illness and possibly save a life. Hutchinson saved his own life 19 years ago
when doctors gave him six months to live. Using the Internet, he read
everything he could on healthy living and how to heal his sick liver. He uses
what he calls integrative medicine, which is using different techniques that
sometimes require a whole new way to think about health and wellness.

After his diagnosis of stage 4 Hepatitis
C, he had to decide if he wanted to live or not. With small children at home,
he decided he wanted to be there for them. Then after 20 months, he decided
that he wanted to help others.

After years of training clients in his
home, on Saturday, Hutchinson launched his new website www.trainmeglenn.trainerize.com
an interactive website announcing his mobile training. “It’s more affordable,”
he said. It offers three price points on 12-week packages that start at under
$25 a week. Depending on needs, the plans include one personal training session
at Hutchinson’s studio in Raymond or via Facebook or Skype. A personal plan is
developed with workouts programed and full access to videos of how to do the
exercises properly.

The next plan has more of a personal
touch with training once a week with Hutchinson and then the same benefits the
other plan has. The final plan really is a complete personalized plan that the
client designs with Hutchinson. “It is personally customized to what the client
needs,” he said. “There is a lot of flexibility to the plans.” He wants his
clients to work out smarter, not beating themselves on workouts that don’t
provide lasting results. “Don’t beat your joints to death,” he said.

Hutchinson evaluates his clients and
sets them up with exercises and cardio conditioning that is good for them. He
sets them up to succeed rather than giving them an exercise they are not ready
for or their lifestyle doesn’t support.

He considers himself a health coach,
more than a trainer focusing on the whole person rather than just one group of
muscles. “Most clients are ready to take the next step,” he said. His clients
aren’t the ones looking for fun and to burn a few calories, he said.

He specializes in working with people
with cancer and other health issues. “Cancer is the most scary word out there,”
he said. He has an anti-cancer diet that he uses with his clients.

Before Christmas, Hutchinson’s wife was
diagnosed with cancer. “The news is never good, but it’s better with choices
when educated.” Through clean eating (no processed foods), using integrative
techniques the success rates are much higher, sometimes 50 to 70 percent,” he
said.Now she is clear and her energy is
returning, and he attributes it to the knowledge he has gained over the years
working with doctors who us integrative approaches to treating cancer.

He is interested in the science of being
healthy. He is interested in working with clients who are looking to be
educated and want choices on their road to healthy living.

“We all need a reason to get up every
morning. To know the knowledge and skill set can help your own family, is
good,” he said.

For more information about Hutchinson’s
program, email trainmeglenn@gmail.com.

Monday, March 16, 2015

The snow is melting and what is left
behind is a lot of work and effort, but Wildwood Properties owned by Rick and
Anne Drapeau can sweep in and leave your property looking fabulous before the
first tulip blossoms. Spring clean ups start in five weeks, according to Rick.

“Even if the snow’s not gone, we can
take care of the dirt from the roads.”

Wildwood Properties started 11 years
ago, when out of necessity Rick left his stressful job with a major corporation
to follow his passion for business. He and his wife moved to Windham, started
the business and a family. The month after he left his job in Augusta he lost
10 pounds, all of his body aches and pains went away and he started sleeping. “We
had a five year plan, but we started it in under three,” Rick said. “We said to
one another, ‘We’re gonna never look back. We’ll make this work’.”

Wildwood Properties works with
residential and commercial properties in all four seasons. From snow management
to aerating lawns from new lawn instillations to tree and shrub pruning, they
can help a homeowner get ready to sell a house or do annual maintenance and
care. Anne custom designs landscapes for customers as well. If it has to do
with property care Wildwood Properties is worth the call.

“We can be your landscaper,” Rick said.
They work from Naples to Westbrook and areas around Sebago in the summer. In
the winter, the territory shrinks to the Windham/Raymond area so he can give
better service to his customers.

With the annual contracts, Wildwood
makes sure that the home is taken care of, snow is cleared from the driveway
and the roof. “Whether they come or not, we’ll be there to take care of it.”
This year the company did 183 hours of snow removal.

“I’m proud of all the stuff we do,” Rick
said. “When someone calls, I hate to say no.” He takes on annual contracts with
clients so they don’t have to worry about their properties when away on
vacation or at their vacation home.

This past fall Wildwood Properties took
a home that had been neglected and pruned, mulched, mowed, added crushed rock
and pressure washed the house to get it ready to be sold. It’s jobs like that
which give Rick the satisfaction of a job well done.

Wildwood Properties employs four
full-time employees not including Anne and in the summer they employ eight
people. Rick also works as a realtor in town. The company is taking on new
clients in the area.

“We like to be the go to company for
property management,” he said. The goals of the company are to grow and to be
the first company someone thinks of. They also want people to respect and trust
them.

Wildwood Properties sponsors spring and
fall soccer teams and is involved in the community through their Two Boys
Christmas Trees and Wreaths where they donate 10 percent of the profit to a
non-profit organization.

Local author Russell Warnberg announces the release of his
third novel, The Gateway Murders.

“Detective Issac Trader left Manchester, New
Hampshire for a short vacation before applying for an opening in the Windham,
Maine, Police Department.He was hoping
to spend the final few years of his career in this quiet little town.It seemed like the perfect fit after
interviewing with the police chief.As
the whole town was soon to find out, trouble seemed to follow Trader.He had become something of a pariah in
Manchester for this very reason.

The murders began almost immediately and it isn't long before
Detective Cole Sullivan inserts himself into the case.This is not a welcome development for Trader.

Early on, Trader befriends the eighteen year old son of the
first murder victim and soon meets Gerri.Is she the woman he has been looking for?The waters never run smooth for Detective
Issac Trader.”

BNI chapters are popping up all over the
area and next Tuesday one of the local chapters is hosting a visitor’s day so
that business owners can come see what BNI has to offer them.

“Do you like your business to gain more
exposure to other business professionals in the area?” asked Niels Mank, vice
president of the BNI Lakes Region Business Alliance chapter.

BNI was formed as a way for small
businesses to learn how to and to network in an environment where they have
business relationships with business owners in all industries. At BNI only one
business from each industry is in each chapter. Once that slot is filled,
another real estate agent for example, could not fill that opening.

“The whole goal is to develop contacts
and create a sales force by working together to help one another,” Mank said.

There are many chapters in the area. This
chapter meets on Tuesday mornings at Dena’s Lobster House and Tavern, 765
Roosevelt Trail, from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. People are welcome to visit as many
chapters as they want to find the one that fits them best.

Most businesses fail in the first three
years because they have been beat down by the word “no”. The world is changing
into a word of mouth marketing system. People are looking for value. They buy
when the perceived value is higher. They also look for trust and credibility
when working with someone, said owner of the BNI franchise Tim and Lindsay
Roberts.

“Go, gain exposure,” Mank said. “What is
an hour and a half of your time every week on a Tuesday morning worth to you?
We’re all there to help each other in business.”

BNI wants to help small business owners
become more effective and efficient. There are openings in the new BNI Lake
Region Business Alliance. For more information about that chapter or others,
contact Niels@Time4Printing.com.